Garri, Mangoes and Cutlasses: Rescued UTME Candidate Relives Four-Day Kidnap Hell

MAKURDI – For 19-year-old Agatha Buter, the journey to sit for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) was supposed to be a milestone toward her future. Instead, it became a descent into a living nightmare characterized by starvation, physical torture, and the constant threat of death.

​Agatha was among the 18 passengers intercepted last Wednesday when armed men ambushed a state-owned Benue Links bus at the “Benue Burnt Bricks” axis along the Makurdi-Otukpo highway. While the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) initially disputed the identity of the victims, Governor Hyacinth Alia has since confirmed that eight of those abducted, including Agatha, were indeed candidates traveling to their various examination centers in Otukpo.

​Days of Hunger and Terror

​Reliving the experience at the Government House in Makurdi following her rescue, Agatha described a harrowing existence in a forest-based settlement. The abductors, whom she identified as armed herdsmen, used extreme violence as a tool for negotiation.

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​”They threatened us with guns and bullets and beat us with cutlasses to force our parents to raise the N10 million ransom they demanded from each person,” she recounted, her voice still shaken by the memory.

​According to her, the male victims bore the brunt of the physical assault. “The boys among us suffered the most. They were beaten repeatedly with cutlasses because the kidnappers were pushing for the ransom.”

​The psychological torture was compounded by severe deprivation. The victims were barely fed, surviving on meager rations of dry garri mixed with salt and occasional mangoes found in the bush. By the third day, even these meager provisions vanished. “On the third day, we had no food at all and were forced to drink unsafe water,” Agatha added.

​The Rescue Operation

​The ordeal ended on Sunday when a coordinated search-and-rescue operation, involving the police tactical teams and troops from Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), tracked the kidnappers to the Okete ward in Ohimini Local Government Area.

​Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, while presenting the victims to the Governor, revealed that the command has already taken eight suspects into custody. Seven of these individuals are believed to be directly linked to the abduction.

​Governor Hyacinth Alia, who received the survivors, directed that they be immediately moved to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH) for comprehensive medical check-ups and trauma counseling.

​Appeal to JAMB

​In light of the traumatic interruption to the students’ academic pursuits, Governor Alia made a formal appeal to the JAMB leadership to reschedule the examinations for the eight affected candidates.

​”These children have been through an unimaginable ordeal,” the Governor stated, commending security agencies for their swift intervention while urging for leniency from the examination body to ensure the victims’ futures are not further compromised by the criminal act.

​As Agatha and her fellow survivors begin the long road to recovery, the Benue State Police Command has assured the public that intelligence-led efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining members of the gang still at large.